IntercontinentalExchange (ICE), an electronic energy marketplace and soft commodity exchange, has reported trading volume growth in excess of 40% in July 2007 in each of the company’s three execution venues compared with July 2006.
The average daily volume for ICE Futures, ICE’s UK regulated futures subsidiary, was 543,232 contracts in July 2007, an increase of 40.8% over the average daily volume in July 2006. Average daily volume at the New York Board of Trade (NYBOT), ICE’s US regulated futures subsidiary, was 201,084 contracts in July 2007, up 40.8% over July 2006. Also during the month, average daily commissions in ICE’s over-the-counter segment were $834,888, a 40.6% increase over July 2006.
ICE Futures reported monthly volume in July 2007 of 11,951,098 contracts, an increase of 47.5% compared with 8,101,992 contracts in July 2006. Average daily volume rose 40.8% to 543,232 contracts in July 2007 from 385,809 contracts in July 2006. Average daily volume for the month of July 2007 represented the second-highest in ICE Futures’ history.
The ICE WTI Crude futures contract had its second-highest total volume month with more than 4.5 million contracts traded, and its second-highest average daily volume with more than 204,000 contracts. The second-best month was also recorded in July in ICE Gas Oil futures, with more than 2 million contracts traded during the month, and an average daily volume of more than 92,000 contracts.
The ICE UK Natural Gas futures contract had record volume in July of 118,320 contracts, and record average daily volume of 5,378. The ICE-ECX CFI emissions futures contract posted record total volume of 119,268 contracts in July, and record average daily volume of 5,421. The ICE-ECX CFI options contract also posted record total volume and average daily volume records.
In July 2007, ICE Futures rate per contract averaged $1.30, compared with a rate per contract of $1.30 in May and $1.27 in June 2007. Rate per contract is calculated by dividing transaction revenues by contract volume, and can vary based on pricing, customer and product mix.
On 31 July 2007, open interest for ICE Futures was 1,864,848 contracts, compared with 1,416,470 contracts on 31 December 2006. Exchange-wide open interest reached a new all-time high on July 12 of 1,867,953 contracts.
Total futures and options volume at NYBOT in July 2007 increased 47.7% to 4,234,855 contracts, compared with volume of 2,867,235 contracts in July 2006. July 2007 average daily volume rose 40.8%, to 201,084 contracts per day.
Electronic trading in soft commodity futures accounted for 82% of the total NYBOT soft commodity futures contracts in July, compared with 72% in June. In July 2007, Average daily volume in electronically traded soft commodity futures was 103,386 contracts; total soft commodity futures volume averaged 126,323 contracts per day. Average daily volume in Sugar No. 11 futures, NYBOT’s largest contract by volume, increased 80% in July compared with the same period in 2006. NYBOT set volume records in July in Cotton No. 2 options and total soft commodity options.
Average daily commissions reflect daily trading activity in ICE’s over-the-counter markets. In July 2007, ICE’s average daily commissions increased 40.6% to $834,888 compared with $593,821 in July 2006.